Archive for July, 2011

William Walker Atkinson, always equal parts mystic and pragmatist, was deeply interested in science throughout his career as a writer. In Atkinson’s view, scientific discoveries and truths about the physical world could only help to confirm the metaphysical truths that he wrote about and championed. The Kybalion has numerous references to atoms, electricity and chemistry, and in the sixth chapter Atkinson states that “science merely corroborates the Hermetic Teachings.”

I recently came across a mention of this 2006 piece in the New York Times (text and images below), and I can only imagine what Atkinson would have thought if he was around to read it. Maybe astonishment, or perhaps a faint smile and shrug of the shoulders.

“The Universe is Mental- held in the Mind of THE ALL.” -The Kybalion

One is only micrometers wide. The other is billions of light-years across. One shows neurons in a mouse brain. The other is a simulated image of the universe. Together they suggest the surprisingly similar patterns found in vastly different natural phenomen.

Mark Miller, a doctoral student at Brandeis University, is researching how particular types of neurons in the brain are connected to one another. By staining thin slices of a mouse’s brain, he can identify the connections visually. The image above shows three neuron cells on the left (two red and one yellow) and their connections.

An international group of astrophysicists used a computer simulation last year to recreate how the universe grew and evolved. The simulation image above is a snapshot of the present universe that features a large cluster of galaxies (bright yellow) surrounded by thousands of stars, galaxies and dark matter (web).

About

In late-April of 2011 Tarcher/Penguin will be releasing the definitive edition of the classic metaphysical text The Kybalion. The introduction to this edition will mark the first time that many of the questions surrounding The Kybalion and its history will be answered, including proof of the identity of its author, William Walker Atkinson. To coincide with its release, I have started this blog to provide a space for news and updates on this new edition as well as tidbits and images related to The Kybalion that did not make it into the introduction that I wrote for it.